Hanging By A Moment
by ExistInspire
Summary: Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?
1. The Boss

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Genre:** Romance and Dramatic

**Main Characters:** Randy Orton and his female companion who will be revealed in a later chapter is a WWE Superstar as well.

**A/N:** I do not like to start stories without finishing others, and since I can't finish the angst drama yet, because I haven't come up with a good way to end it, I decided to work on this and hopefully come up with something else. I am still working on my other series; this is just a side project to get my juices flowing. This story will have Randy with Evolution and will not show him breaking away on his own, but the matches if I use them, will be in real time.

* * *

"Vince said you can go in to see him now." The receptionist spat out curtly, the crooked smile never once leaving her face. As he made his way to the office door he realized that you had to leave it to Vince to get a receptionist that was as hard nosed as the man himself. 

He slid in through the partially open doors, still open after Shane and Stephanie had long ago left. As he made his way in he wondered if asking this favor was going to be like going in front of a firing squad. Seeing Vince was never anyone's favorite way to spend an afternoon and Randy wasn't going to be any different then the ones before him.

He prided himself on being a hard worker and even taking the extra step and wrestling injured. He felt he owed it to his family as well as the company that he now worked for to keep his head high and work through whatever happened in his life. Well everything but this.

"You wanted to see me Randy? Why don't you take a seat and tell me what is on your mind."

Randy did as he was told and waited patiently for Vince to finish signing all of the papers that now lay strewn in front of him so he could continue. The last thing he wanted to do was start something like this while Vince was in the middle of something else.

"So what can I do for you Randy?" Vince asked his voice so deep it shook Randy to the core. Did he really have to come and bother Vince about something like this? _Well if you want to go to the damn thing and get it over with then yes you do._

Damn his inner voice for starting in on him now. It wasn't like it had to ask Vince for the night off of Raw to go to the reunion. No it was just there to bug him and make him feel lower then low.

"I need to ask you for Monday night off sir."

"For what exactly do you need to take the biggest night of the week off?" Vince asked, again going back to his papers still dangling in front of him and making Randy even more nervous. Did Paul ever feel like this when he had to ask the man for his own daughter's hand?

"I have a 5 year high school reunion to attend and apparently despite what I thought, they do not take no for an answer."

Vince laughed then, the sound billowing off the walls and making Randy slightly less agitated. He had come in here thinking it was a stupid idea and here was his boss laughing his ass off about it. What was the world coming too?

"Yes you can take it off, with all of the injuries you have been sustaining in the ring as of late I think it might do you some good."

Randy looked at his boss then, taking the man in. He had been in this place before, when he had to prove himself to the man only years before but this time was different. Was it possible that Vince really did have an easy going side?

"Are you sure sir? I mean I am sure if you needed me, then you could call and they could let me out of it. It isn't like I want to go to the damn thing anyway."

Vince looked up and took the young man into his vision. What kid hated their school experience so much that they didn't want to go back and see the people that had ridden them? Shane had jumped at his only a few short years before, and Stephanie had been the same. It was a good way to show the people that pissed you off just what you thought of them. Making millions had to amount for something in this world.

"Well why don't you want to go?"

"You see, I don't really have a date for it, and if I show up alone it will feel like tenth grade and the prom all over again. I just don't want to deal with it again."

Vince laughed again, the walls surely shaking at that moment causing Randy to situate himself in the chair better and to relax his tense muscles.

"Is that all? Well listen, the Women's Title isn't up for grabs tonight, we are saving it for the Pay Per View, so why don't you ask one of the women, and if they agree let me know so I can book them off for the night?"

Randy's eyes almost popped out of his head at the suggestion. He had thought about asking one of the women he worked with, but hadn't wanted to come across as a total pig. With Vince's backing though, he might not actually look like one. Maybe the woman would want the night off anyway; they did tend to work as hard as the men. Well at least some of them.

"That sounds fine; I will look into it and see what I can get."

"Can I offer you a piece of advice Randy?" Vince asked, sitting ramrod straight in his chair, and Randy waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Nodding his head in acceptance, which was the only thing he felt he should do, Randy waited for what he was about to be told.

"If one of the girls doesn't want to go, I say that you go anyway. Life is too short to let people's ideas of you take centre stage. So if you don't get one of the girls, then go and make them eat their words."

Taking what Vince had said into consideration, Randy stood from the chair and shook the mans hand. He hadn't been to see his father in awhile, and it was nice to hear some advice other then bad from the man before him. If Shane and Stephanie didn't know it yet, their father was definitely a keeper.

"Thank you sir, I will."

* * *


	2. The Locker Room with Evolution

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Genre:** Romance and Dramatic

**Main Characters:** Randy Orton and his female companion who will be revealed in a later chapter is a WWE Superstar as well.

**A/N:** For fear of overkill this story will not be as long as some or well almost all of my other ones. I don't want to make it shorter then hell either, but it will not end up being a twenty six chapter story if you get what I mean. It will be a cute little dramatic romance like most of my other storylines, and I won't leave you hanging at all. Also I will bring in the woman he will take to the reunion in the next chapter so be on the look out for that. This chapter though, will be kind of funny and kind of dull in the manor I do it, so have at me in reviews in you don't like it. LOL Thank you for the support on this one, it mean a lot, even though I didn't get one review in my email box LOL It seems I get too many for to keep up with me. But I did see what you all said, so thank you.

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The locker room was primed for action as he entered it and took a look around. He knew the last place he should go for help with the women of the WWE was in his own locker room, but figured since everyone there was married, he might end up with a pretty good outlook. 

Ric was in top form as usual was the first thing that came to mind when Ric entered his vision. He had a way of getting the locker room pumped the likes Randy had never seen before. There was just something about a grown and seriously old man jumping around and "whooing" all the time that just made Randy want to roll on the floor laughing, but instead, it got the wrestler's he worked with pumped and they put on some of the best matches of their careers under it. Go figure.

"You gonna stare at us all day or are you going to come in and work with us?" Paul asked, looking up from the barbells he was pumping and flashing that million dollar smile his way.

Now Paul was a different matter all together. He spent the majority of his day in the gym and then brought all the bells to work so he could pump them while waiting for a match to come his way. This guy never quit making his body ripped. In the end Randy never worried about it, because obviously he liked the way he looked, and he did marry the boss's daughter, so in the end it worked out well for him but watching him and how serious he was into it, Randy wondered if asking him which girl to date was a smart move.

"Come on Paul you know our Randy, all he does is look." Dave said, pushing his way past Flair and making his way further into the locker room. Randy knew from hanging out alone with this man that he didn't need any work at all where his body was concerned and could drink beer for the next ten years straight and never get a beer gut. That was the one thing that he really admired about his Evolution partner in crime. He did have a point about the observing though; Randy did do a lot of it these days.

"Yeah listen guys, I kind of need some advice on women." He finally croaked out, waiting for Paul or Ric to make a crack at him about needing help with women. It was well known in the locker room area that he never ran out of women that wanted to get with him. The only problem Randy had with that analogy was that he didn't want a one night stand that might result in more hard times for him then he wanted. He wanted something that was like his parents. How many wrestler's had already found the right woman that could put up with their shit and still stay? He hated being on the other end of that.

When the remarks didn't come, Randy figured it was pretty safe to continue with what he had to say. "I have to go to this stupid reunion and although Vince gave me the night off, I still don't have a date."

Paul stopped pumping iron and looked at the youngest Evolution member trying desperately not to laugh. The look on Randy's face was one he hadn't seen often enough before but it looked like the poor dude was serious. Why he didn't have a date was beyond what thought Paul could manage though, so he decided to dig a little deeper.

"What do you mean you don't have a date dude, don't women line up for you around the block wherever we go?"

Randy nodded and then looked down towards the floor. How could he make these guys see that what he really wanted was a woman and not some girl to hang off his arm?

"Hey Randy man, what has got you this down? You could have any woman you want; you just have to put yourself out there more." Dave said, slapping the young man on the shoulder as he so often did when he seemed down on himself. Confidence ran through Randy which was why Dave didn't see why he had to come to the man's aid every five minutes when it came to matters of the heart. Then again he was married, he had done all the work he had too, now he had to watch Randy do the same thing.

"Vince said that I should ask someone from the women's locker room. What do you think?" he asked, looking up from the floor and leveling them with a serious glare.

"What exactly do you want her for man? Is she going to be a lay for you or is this like being used for a serious thing?" Paul asked his smile no longer able to hide. If he could only be Randy's age again and in need of some tits and ass. He wouldn't hesitate to grab one of the girls in the back, but he was different then Randy it seemed, and a hell of a lot older.

"I want to wine and dine her man, she would be doing this for me and I know it won't be easy. I don't want to use her, I just need some help. Which one of the girls on the roster do you think would do this out of the goodness of their heart and not for sex?"

Paul was stumped as soon as he told them he wanted the girl not for a lay but for a favor. What girl in their right mind wouldn't sleep with the young guy?

Ric chose that moment to interrupt his ritual of dancing and prancing and styling and profiling to answer the young man he saw as a son. "I say you go and ask Trish, she seems to be the only one back there either not taken or horribly mean to men."

Paul brushed off Ric's comment while Dave stood there still thinking about and almost agreeing with the older champion. Ric always did seem to have a good point when he opened his mouth outside of the ring.

"No man, that girl is trouble; remember all the shit she caused with me and Stephanie back in the day? I don't trust her at all. I say go and ask Stacy. She broke up with Test so hell you could get legs if nothing else."

Randy shook his head. He should have known coming to this locker room at a time like this, when he had to get a date or go alone and be embarrassed was the worst move he could have done. Paul didn't want to really help at all; he just wanted to get him laid. Ric seemed logical but at the same time Dave wasn't totally on board with that one either, so it left it all up to him as usual.

"Paul man, I do not want an easy lay here man. I want a nice girl."

Paul laughed, causing Dave to even break his stride and smile just a little. "If you want a nice girl then buddy you are in the wrong business."

With all three men laughing then Randy had just about had enough. The only place he should have gone to ask about women to take the reunion, it should have been the Women's Locker room. They wouldn't laugh at him there, if anything they would make a list of who wanted to go and he would have to choose.

Not wasting another minute he walked from the locker room, pausing at the outside of the door to catch his breath, the laughing still continuing on the inside, making his blood boil.

Yes, if you wanted a woman, you went to the one place you could get one. And with that in mind Randy headed into the Lions Den.

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	3. The Locker Room With The Women

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Genre:** Romance and Dramatic

**Main Characters:** Randy Orton and his female companion who will be revealed in a later chapter is a WWE Superstar as well.

**A/N:** I am going against what I said in the last chapter. Seeing as I am putting him in with all of the women in this chapter and I have no idea what I will make happen, I am going to make him choose in the next chapter the woman that will go to the reunion with him. I am sorry to those of you that are eager to see who it is, and I assure you, you will know for sure next chapter, but for the sake of making this one go on a little longer then it will, I will make you wait a while longer. Thank you for the reviews and I hope I don't let you down.

* * *

_I can't believe I actually thought those guys would give me good advice about who to take to the reunion. How could I have been so stupid?_ He thought as he finally reached his destination, the Women's Locker room. 

He inched toward the door with trepidation and was about to knock for entry when the door suddenly opened in his face.

"Eeeeeek" the young woman screamed, jumping back about ten paces into the room and letting the door swing closed behind her. She had been dressed so there had been nothing to fear, but she hadn't thought anyone would just linger outside the door like that.

Trish looked up from the fashion magazine she was reading, yet another Canadian one that was featured on burst out laughing, recognizing immediately where the scream had come from. Stacy had a habit of not looking where she was going, and got scared at the drop of a hat. Some things just never changed, no matter how long you worked with a person.

"Now what did you go and do that for?" she asked, knowing that the person on the other side of the door was probably more scared then Stacy by now. How were you supposed to have people come in and out when at the drop of a hat someone screamed in womanly fright?

"I didn't think anyone was out there, and then there he was, standing at the damn door like some sort of stalker!" Stacy protested stronger now then she had been only minutes before.

"Who was it Stacy?" Ivory asked, coming out in her towel, obviously ready now to dress for her match that was up only minutes from now. No matter how long she waited to take that shower she always went out in style, if only everyone could learn that secret, they wouldn't need a makeup woman following them around with brushes all the time.

"You know I didn't get a good look at him, I just jumped back from the door. Holy shit! That wasn't the nice thing to do was it? I let the door practically slam in the guys face."

Trish stood to her feet, putting the magazine down on the bench like seat she had just vacated, knowing she would be back to it in a matter of minutes. That was when she finally dealt with Stacy and the man on the other side of the locker room door. Making her way to the door Stacy grabbed her hand.

"Listen, I didn't really mean to do it, you can tell whoever it was that right?"

Trish laughed and motioned for Stacy to continue getting ready, now that Ivory was out of the shower.

She pushed the door open, hoping that the person on the other side of the door wasn't still right there, not wanting to slam into him again and make it even worse then it might already be. Who she saw when the door was completely open took her aback. Since when did this man come to call on the women?

"Can I help you?" Trish asked, plastering on a smile, which wasn't hard considering what she was imagining in her head with Stacy at that moment.

"Yeah I was hoping that I could get some advice from one of you about something."

Trish looked behind her, noticing that everyone was fully clothed now and pushed the door open, motioning for Randy to make his way in. "I have to admit, this is a bit of a shock seeing one of you here."

Randy raised his eyebrows in question and made his way into the room where none of the other superstars could hear him. "One of us?"

"Yeah, Evolution doesn't usually make house calls if you know what I mean. It was a bit of a shock seeing you on the other side of the door. But enough about that, what can we do for you Randy?"

Randy blushed then, knowing full well what she meant, the man he worked with tended not to get involved with the women of the WWE for fear their wives would get wind of it and leave them with less then nothing. He also felt awkward about asking all of these women who was the better chance to go the reunion with him.

"I need advice only a woman can give me." He stated, willing himself the strength not to sound like a total ass by the end of what he had to say.

Ivory chose that moment to make her way over and put in her two cents, which never turned out any good for the person on the other end of the conversation. Before Trish had a chance to intervene, she had spit it out and as per usual it wasn't at all was he meant?

"Why you got a girlfriend on the rag and need advice on how to handle her?"

Trish slapped her head in embarrassment which caused Randy to lighten up just a little and crack a smile. As it seemed, Trish knew he hadn't meant anything like that and wanted to stop it before it happened.

"No I assure you there is no girlfriend and there is no rag. I have this commitment coming up that I can't get out of and I need a female companion, but not just someone to sleep with, I wouldn't want to do anything like that at all. That is where I thought you could help me out."

Stacy looked up from where she had been sitting and drying her now frazzled and wet hair. "You mean you don't want to get laid? What the hell is wrong with you man?"

Trish pushed Randy off to the side of the room, wanting to get him alone so she could totally understand what it was he wanted from them. "Sorry about the girls Randy, they don't usually understand anything but vulgar. So what do you want the girl to do for you?"

"Accompany me to my High School Reunion. I want to be able to show her a good time while she is with me, but I don't want it to have anything to do with sex or anything vulgar. She would be doing me a huge favor and it would mean a lot. I just thought that I could get out of it and wouldn't need a date, but it seems I have no other choice but go and now I don't have a date."

"Last minute attempt to have a nice woman on her arm for the longest evening in history I take it?"

"Yeah if you want to put it like that. Vince thought that maybe I could ask one of you to go with me, but I don't have a clue who to ask and then when I do ask someone, I don't want them to think I just want their body. I want their mind for the night more then anything else."

Trish almost felt herself collapse under the weight that his words held with her. For the first time in her entire life there was a man there that didn't want a woman for her body, she felt like she had died and gone to men heaven.

"Well if you want nothing more then a nice evening out then I don't know what to tell you. Are you sure you don't have a date?"

Randy laughed lightly and averted his eyes away from hers. She obviously had no idea how much power she held in her eyes. "Yeah I am sure, no one wants to go with me this late that isn't married or taken."

"You want my advice Randy, since some of us have matches tonight, why don't you take your time, talk to all of us and then take a couple hours and make a decision. Pretty much everyone in this room is single and I am sure there has to be at least one diamond in the rough that you can find."

Nodding his hand he watched her walk away from him. He certainly did like her idea of talking to each of the women alone. As he made his way over to his first victim, he wondered if he already hadn't found her.

* * *


	4. The Decision

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Genre:** Romance and Dramatic

**Main Characters:** Randy Orton and his female companion who will be revealed in a later chapter is a WWE Superstar as well.

**A/N:** I like how funny you guys found both of the last chapters on this story, that was the intent here, because as much as I love the romantic genre, I do like to make it a little awkward and funny at times too, adds more to peoples characters. Thank you so much for enjoying what I did so far and well up next is the decision and then on to what the woman will wear that can knock his socks off.

* * *

He sat alone in the darkened locker room, thankful for the peace of the moment and wanting time to reflect what had gone on in his search for the perfect woman to take to his reunion. He had indeed talked to everyone that was due to work that night out of the women and had finally come to a decision, but one he didn't want to make lightly before making sure he had taken everything into effect. 

First he had talked to Stacy, while Ivory, Trish, Molly and Amy were all in matches. He already knew Amy would be a long shot, what she had with Matt wouldn't allow her to do this for him, even if there was the payoff of not getting hit on. Stacy had been interesting indeed, someone he knew right away he wasn't going to take, but wanting to make the best of it anyway. You never know what you can learn about someone when you get them one on one away from other females.

**Earlier With Stacy in the Women's Locker Room**

"_So you are sure you aren't just using this reunion as a way to get laid?" She had asked him a twisted little smile sitting atop an otherwise beautiful face. Randy tried his best to stay objective but knew it was useless. She was all about getting laid and he didn't know the reason behind it._

"_No, I need a classy lady to bring with me who will knock all the other guys I went to school with on their ass. It has nothing at all to do with getting laid as you like to call it."_

_Stacy laughed. She had been warned about men like this from other women who had dated them and they most always wanted to get laid. At least when they came around her they did. There was something about her legs that made sex the only thing they all had in common. Well this time it would be different, she wouldn't give him an inch and he wouldn't get to have his cake and eat it too. _

"_Well what kind of woman do you want again? What I mean is you need to define classy for me because I might not fit that category the way you need me too."_

"_What I want is a woman I can take to dinner before the reunion and then take her there and have some fun dancing and hanging out with the people I went to school with and then I will take them back to their hotel with no promise of anything else happening. I don't want this to seem like it is all about me taking a girl out to get laid."_

"_Well you might be the only guy in the locker room that doesn't want it from at least one of us. Andrew used me, and then threw me away when I wouldn't leave the company to be with him. That was all about sex too and let me tell you, it made me sick then and it makes me sick now."_

_Randy backed off immediately, sensing the residual anger she still held against the man who had only wanted to be with her after the company let him go. There was no way in hell he wanted to bring that kind of attitude to the table at the reunion so he had to make sure he made his decision wisely._

**Back To Real Time Again**

Stacy had been some kind of work, first trying to scare him out of his wits when he made his way to the locker room and then turning on him and wondering why he didn't just want to get laid by her. As much as legs that long interested him, this wasn't about his libido this time. It was about bringing the nicest girl to the reunion, something he wanted to make sure he did and did right.

He remembered asking Amy if she would go with him, as long as Matt said it was alright, with the promise of nothing happening, and as nice as she had been, a true winner if there had been a chance, she had answered no and told him exactly why. Matt and she were planning a wedding, and she didn't want to take anytime off from that to deal with a little reunion. It had been the nicest rejection he had ever received and he remembered kissing her hand in thanks before just walking away.

If he gave into his real feelings on the matter, he already knew who he wanted to take, the one woman that had given him a chance to ask her right off the top but sensing that it was his choice had backed off. She was for sure the one he wanted to take, but there had been other options still on the table and he didn't want to discount any one woman more then another.

**Locker Room Earlier With Ivory and Molly**

"_So I guess the first thing I need to ask is if any of you are available to take the night off next week for me?"_

_Molly shook her head no and then went on to explain why because she didn't want to shut him right down. It seemed the women weren't half as bad as the men made them seem like in the locker room._

"_I have a match that night, against my partner in crime here, and besides that I don't think that my boyfriend would like that all that much."_

_Randy raised his eyebrow in question. It had been a locker room joke for years that Molly had been single for so long because she was looking for the right woman. Was it possible again that everyone had been wrong and she did indeed have a man she didn't want to admit to having?_

"_She makes a good point, she is in a match with me that night, and Vince said this is for the Women's Title shot the week after next at the pay per view, so I don't think either one of us could do it for you. Sorry about that Randy."_

_Randy looked between Ivory who had just made everything perfectly clear, and then to Molly, who still held a slight grin as if waiting for someone to ask her who her man was. At least it hadn't gone that badly he thought. Getting turned down for work was better then getting turned down for not being tall enough._

"_It's alright ladies; it was a long shot anyway. I wish the both of you luck in that match. Thank you for being so honest with me. By the way, Molly, who the hell are you dating?"_

_Molly blushed and before she could say anymore, there came a knock on the door. Jumping from her seat before answering Molly opened the door to what seemed to be her waiting suitor. The man on the other side of the door flashed Randy a huge grin and in mere seconds, they made their way out of the locker room._

"_Damn I didn't know she was dating Jay, well good for her."_

_Ivory laughed and touched him lightly on the arm in an affectionate gesture his own sister would make. "Don't worry Randy, the right girl is in this locker room and you will find her. The only issue I think you will have is ditching her when the night is over."_

**Back To Real Time Again**

As he sat in the darkness he reflected on Stacy, Molly and the boyfriend no one knew she had, and Ivory. Stacy had indeed wanted to go with him, but her anger towards the men in her line of work made it hard for him to choose her, and then the other two women were working a heavy match that week and couldn't miss it. Not to mention that Amy had wedding plans to make with Matt, which left him with only one choice left as the women he needed to take.

Standing from his chair he knew the time had come to make her come with him, and he hoped that even though he had taken almost all night to get there, he did indeed want her on his arm next week. There just wasn't anyone at that moment that was any better then her. The funny thing was, he hadn't even had to come to the Women's Locker room to find the answer, and it had been laid out hours before from his friends.

He noticed by the monitors in the room that her match would be ending very soon and he made his way towards the gorilla spot. It had been named for one of the greatest sports entertainment men, and it was the perfect place to catch her before she could change her mind and turn him down. Something he really didn't want happening anymore that night.

As she made her way through the curtain she saw him standing alone and knew what he was there to do. Stopping mere steps from him, she smiled and waited for the question of the night. The one she had been secretly hoping he would ask her since he made his way into their locker room.

"Hey Trish, listen I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out but would you do me the honor of attending my reunion with me?

She smiled at him again, choosing to make him wait a few seconds in fear before giving him his answer. As he started to fidget under the pressure of what he was asking, she immediately threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Of course I will go with you. It took you long enough!"

* * *


	5. The Dinner Part One

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Genre:** Romance and Dramatic

**Main Characters:** Randy Orton and his female companion who will be revealed in a later chapter is a WWE Superstar as well.

**A/N: **Support for this story is growing slowly and I couldn't be happier. I am glad you all approve of my choice of putting Randy with Trish as it is a first for me and I wanted to see what I could do when they got together. Thank you very much for the reviews and see you later with more story updates.

* * *

**Tuesday Night – 6 Days to Go**

He felt like he had been flying for hours by the time he had touched down in Toronto. He had been here so many times that he almost knew the city like the back of his hand, but the one thing he didn't know now was where the hell he had to go to get what he wanted.

What he wanted was Trish and he wanted to show her a good time before she had to come to the reunion with him. He had made up his mind taking his sweet ass time and the least he felt he could do was make that end up to her by showing her just what he had in mind for the night that was only less then a week away.

Is this how guys felt when they went on a first date? He didn't even want to look down at his legs anymore for fear that they would have shaken right off by now. He had been on the plane for about two hours and the entire time he looked like he was freezing with all the shaking his feet did. Little did he know then that it was more about nerves then the cold, he had been through worse winters then this one in his young age.

He slid himself into the cab which for some reason now felt like it was going to close in on him and eat him whole, no doubt from his nerves again and showed the man behind the wheel the piece of paper with the address he had secured on it.

"You know where this is man?"

The cabbie just nodded, starting the car and taking off in the direction Randy could only assume was where Trish kept house. He had heard from some of the more normal guys in the locker room, particularly Adam and Jay that she lived in beachfront property in Toronto and that for the right price that would get it for him.

Well he had secured the address for the right price, which meant he lost about 100 bucks for dinner for the two blonde studs. It was all worth it though if it meant he had a chance to sweep this woman off her feet before he made her go to his reunion with him.

After what felt like an hour in the cab with the driver no closer to stopping then he had been when he was picked up at the airport, Randy chose to close his eyes and catch up on some much needed sleep. He might have the week off including Monday but it didn't make him any less tired. He felt like a woman without her makeup and felt that making a better impression was the first thing on his list once he finally stood before the woman of his dreams.

* * *

She had been dying to call someone all night, trapped in her snow ridden house with nothing to do but think about what she had agreed to do a week from now. Was she out of her mind after all? Were all the girls in the locker room right when they warned her that he might only want to get in her pants? 

Pushing those thoughts from her mind she headed into the kitchen to check on what was to become her stay at home dinner that night. She had learned at a very young age to make food that wasn't only Kraft Dinner, and in the end had settled on making a small meatloaf and potatoes that she could enjoy while the winter weather surrounded her outside.

She heard the knock then, small and quiet at first, but then coming in at a louder frequency as the person knocked again with more force. She glanced at her watch, saw the time and not knowing who would come by her house at this hour, she made her way to the door to answer it.

If it was another fan, who had searched long and hard for her home address she might just have to break some legs, so without a second thought, she grabbed the bat that stood by the door and slowly pulled it open. As she lifted to bat to make her point, she saw the man flinch instantly and back away from the door. She caught a glimpse of him and thought she was looking at one of her fellow wrestlers. Not sure though, she stepped out onto the step to get a better look.

"Okay asshole, what do you want?"

He turned around then, and she came face to face with the man she had just said she would go on a date with the following week and she instantly blushed, throwing the bat back inside the house, listening to it clatter on the floor before she could speak again. Did she really just call him an asshole and almost hit him with the bat?

"I guess I should have called you first and said I was coming." He managed to choke out, finally standing up straight and looking the young woman before him in the eyes.

"Well I should have asked who it was before I opened the door and almost beat you with the bat. Sorry Randy, I didn't think it would be you on the other end on the door. I usually just get weird fans coming around."

Finally feeling the chill of the evening through his thin jacket, Randy lifted his hands in surrender before speaking again. "Well do you mind if I come in before I catch my death out here?"

She moved out of the way of the door and motioned him in with her hands. She was still blushing pretty hard and knew it must look horrible to the man before her. He probably hadn't been accosted at someone's door before. Lord if only she knew what he thought about her now. Would he choose to take someone else after all?

Shutting the door she turned to face him, motioning him into the kitchen area where she had to again check on her food to make sure everything was going as planned.

"Sorry about all of that out there Randy, as I said, I wasn't expecting anyone tonight. Which makes me wonder what it is you are doing here?"

"On your doorstep at 9 at night or in Canada in general?" he asked, his sly little grin finally popping out on her and taking her off her guard again, the same guard she had just worked to get back to normal.

"Both I guess. I mean I didn't tell you where I lived and we don't have a show here anytime soon."

He ran his fingers over the top of his growing hair, as if nervous with what he was about to say. If Trish knew any better he seemed to be acting like her stomach felt at that moment.

"I actually came to see if you wanted to come to dinner with me. Of course you would have to tell me where to go because I don't know a whole lot of good places in this country."

Before answering him, she pointed to the oven and to the food she had cooking both on top and in the actual machine. "I actually was making dinner for myself but I am sure there is enough for two if you wanted to just eat in tonight? I mean I don't get much time off anymore, and when I do come home I like to stay inside and keep a private life."

Randy nodded and sat down as she pulled out the chair in front of him. Making her way to the other side of the table she also took a seat and for the next few minutes they just stared at each other awkwardly not knowing what to say next.

"Well I hope you like homemade meatloaf and potatoes, because that is what I had planned on having tonight." Trish finally said, breaking the already going cold silence that the room had taken.

"Are you kidding? I haven't had a homemade meal in over two years. My mom used to always want to teach me how to cook for myself since she knew I would become a wrestler like my father, but I just never got around to learning it."

Trish smiled at his memories of past times in his life, happy for the conversation to be starting again. "Well then it's settled, you are staying for some homemade Canadian dinner."

* * *


	6. The Dinner Part Two

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Genre:** Romance and Dramatic

**Main Characters:** Randy Orton and his female companion who will be revealed in a later chapter is a WWE Superstar as well.

**A/N:** Okay now that the other story is out of the way, I can update this one a little bit more and focus more on this couple then I could before and let me tell you it was hard, I kept seeing Jackie in my head when writing Trish, it made it kind of funny in my little writing corner. None the less this is the dinner part two, where it isn't really dinner, but the after part that I am focusing on. Thank you all for the support and I hope I do not disappoint.

* * *

Dinner was long over, and Randy stood awkwardly at the kitchen walkway, which didn't hold a door like he expected and waited to find out if she wanted him to stick around or just get the heck out of her personal space. 

He was embarrassed to admit it, and to be honest he didn't know why but he had spent the time on the plane watching that day's episode of Dr. Phil and as he found out, there were some women that didn't like having men in their space, and those were just the married ones, imagine being single and sticking around. He was much safer waiting for her to mention what to do next.

"I was going to vegetate with a movie after I finished cleaning up, so if you want to stick around for a movie that is dramatic then you can feel free to stay."

"Are you sure you don't have something that has people getting blown up? Because if you hadn't realized I am totally the guy that likes those kinds of movies." He knew she would see right through it and that was the plan. The last movie he had seen and actually liked had been more dramatic then action filled and it had been Finding Nemo with his little niece not too long back on DVD.

To be honest he liked getting pulled into lives of other people that seemed to be worse then his. He had also spent an enormous amount on time online lately, seeing what the fans liked to do with him in their version of writing for the WWE, and he found himself actually pretty moved by some of them.

"Are you pulling my leg here or are you actually serious?" she asked then, turning around with her rubber gloves on, looking ready for actual surgery then dishes. All of a sudden he was hit with a jolt and realized he could imagine this woman being in their kitchen and cleaning up after the kids and him after dinner.

He shook off the more then happy picture and grinned at her, not allowing her to realize that he was thinking about her in a way he shouldn't have been, but also to let her know he wasn't at all serious.

"If you don't mind having me here, then I don't mind the movie choice at all. What is it called anyway?"

"Pay it Forward."

He shook his head, trying to place if he had seen it, knowing it was an older movie but nothing more and then turned back to face her. "I haven't seen it but I have heard of it."

"Yeah, it is apparently about the ideal that if someone does something for you, then the best thing is to pay it forward. If you think about it, it is kind of like us."

He had been right along with her until she had said that it reminded her of them, in which case he then trailed off, his mind completely blank at what she could have meant by that.

"How do you believe that the movie ideal is like us?"

She laughed and turned back away from the sink, the dishes still soaking, leaving Randy wonder again why she didn't have a dishwasher. Must be a Canadian thing, or something she had grown up with.

"You helped me out with the girls, gave them something else to deal with other then my love life. So I did the best thing I could do and I made you pick me to go to this reunion with. It is really simple really."

Randy liked where this was going, but knew she had to get back to the work at hand. He walked into her living room and picked up the movie, looking at the cover, thinking about what she had just admitted to him. He knew she was right in the long run; they were both helping each other out. So why couldn't he quit thinking about her actually running the home he lived in?

* * *

A few hours later, the movie long over, the two of them sat together in the couch, both wanting to break the silence but not knowing how to do it without looking funny. 

She had to admit, she wanted to ask him why he had really chosen her and what he did want from the night that was slowly approaching them. Randy on the other hand wanted to know if she wouldn't mind seeing him again, and also what it would be like to kiss her, both of which he wasn't sure he was ready to ask.

So the silence resumed for a few more minutes until Randy decided to break it. Before he could speak what was on his mind though, she shot out the same question he had been asking himself all night.

"Would you like to maybe go out sometime?" she blushed instantly, pushing herself deeper into the couch in embarrassment at having cut him off to ask such a silly question. With the way she was sitting now in the couch, Randy was wondering it was trying to eat her whole.

"Yes, I mean that was what I was going to ask you. Yes I would like to go out with you sometime, I think that is why I showed up here tonight anyway."

"Why did you ask me to do this with you Randy?"

"I asked you to come with me to my reunion, one so I wouldn't have to be alone, because I don't deal well with my school buddies, whom I haven't seen in years. I also asked you because I wanted the best girl, the right girl for the job and no matter how much I wrap my mind around the woman I know, they don't hold a candle to you."

She blushed again but before she could push herself deeper into the couch he reached out for her hand, bringing her back up to his level, so perfect in fact that they looked each other directly in the eye.

"I am going to kiss you, but only if you don't tell me to stop."

He reached in to where her lips seemed parted and ready as if she was feeling the same way as he was at the things that were happening to them. How was it possible that you worked with someone so long and didn't clue into just how truly amazing they really were?

As soon as their lips touched, Trish immediately turned to jelly. She had wanted to help him out and do this for him, but if she actually admitted her real motivation it would have been that she had wanted him to ask her out for months now, and that things were meant to lead this way.

She tried to move her arms, to break the kiss and to get her rational mind around what was happening but she found that they were as soft as jelly much like the rest of her body at that moment. It was a thankful moment when Randy finally pulled away and just looked her deeply in the eyes.

"I guess I better get back to the hotel, but I wrote the number on the pad by your phone, so if you like ever want to talk or something, then you can reach me."

He stood to his feet, almost pleading with her in his mind to also rise and at least acknowledge what had happened between them. He didn't have to wait long. She stood to her feet and taking his hand into hers walked him to the door, not letting go for dear life.

As they stood on opposite sides of the door, like they had only a few hours before, he felt the need to give her the bat so they could go through all of it over again. He didn't know how he felt about letting the night end where it was now.

She reached out and grazed his cheek with a small kiss, something his mother would have called a butterfly kiss and with a quick wave she said goodbye. For minutes after they said their goodbye's he stood on her stoop going over in his mind what had just taken place.

He had wanted a woman to take to his reunion for a good time and appearance only. So why had it all changed now and he felt himself wanting more?

* * *


	7. SmackDown

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Genre:** Romance and Dramatic

**Authors Note:** Another update of an old story for me! WAHOO! Okay now that I got that out of the way, for the fans of this that are still alive and kicking, I'm sorry it took me two years to get my butt in gear, and for those of you that did review in my long away time, I thank you, I got every one of them and they meant the world to me. A note to keep in mind here is that I am not going to go back and change the time line. He will still be with Evolution, at least in name only.

* * *

**Thursday Night: Countdown 3 Days**

"You did what?" Dave asked Randy as they both got ready for their tag team match. Vince and Shane had asked that this week they compete against some Smackdown superstars on their show, to bring up the ratings and give the people something to really get into. After agreeing, here they sat, almost ready for the big match.

Also in the locker room with them were their cohorts in crime, Paul, known as Triple H and Ric. The Nature boy was at the top of his game, having won the tag team belts with Dave Bautista, and now he was taking the night off to stand guard as Randy took his spot.

"I went to Toronto and had dinner with the girl I am taking to my reunion."

Paul continued to check himself out in the mirror, not wanting one hair out of place before the music hit and they all made their way down the ramp, but he was listening to every word that randy and Dave were saying, and he didn't like where this was going.

"You went and asked Trish to the reunion didn't you? Even after I told you that all she is good for is a roll in the hay and a lot of issues. How could you have done something so completely stupid Randy?"

Ric threw his friend, and the leader of Evolution a look, to try and make him stop before he took this too far and alienated his young friend. The last thing they wanted tonight was to have a big fight in the arena between the one group that was supposed to be more solid then rock.

"No Ric, he doesn't seem to get it. We all warned him the night he asked us for an opinion, so what does he go and do? He goes and asks the one girl we said to stay away from. We all know he is in this for a lay and thats all. Now he is going to have a woman on his coattails until he can get the balls to tell her to screw off."

Randy stood from where he was sitting with Dave then, venom pouring through his veins. Paul may have worked with Trish only a few short years ago, but that didn't give him the right to go around assuming what he was in this for and what Trish was in for having said yes. He had told them and asked them their opinions as friends, not anything more then that.

"Last I checked Paul, this is my fucking reunion, and you don't have a say in who I take to it, so why don't you just shut the hell up and go back to primping yourself. It's what your good at anyway."

Paul immediately came at Randy then, making Ric jump between the two of them putting his arms up on either side of their chests until Dave came and backed Randy off from the situation.

"Now the two of you stop this shit right now. Look what this is doing to us? Is that what you want five minutes before an Evolution match? Paul go back to doing whatever it was you were doing and Randy, you and I can go out and talk in the hall."

He motioned towards the door, pushing his tag team partner that night through it, wanting to break this tension up before anyone else said anything they would all regret. While Dave understood why Randy had chosen to have this girl be his partner for the reunion, he also knew that talking about it around Paul was collateral damage.

"So you said you kissed her and that she didn't stop you? That's not exactly what you were going for was it?" he asked, trying to bring his friend back to the conversation at hand.

"No it wasn't planned but my God Dave, out of all the women I could have chosen here, or even off the street, she is probably the most classy. She didn't want to kiss her, I don't think it was planned in any way, but she didn't say no when I said I was going to do it, and then followed through. I just don't know what to do about it now."

"Well you ask her out and go out with her again before the damn reunion. See if the reason you kissed her is still there before you take her with you to a major life event."

Randy thought about what Dave was saying and knew immediately it was something he would like to do before the reunion. He only had three days to do it, which meant not giving Trish much notice, but he hoped she would be into it as well.

"You're right man, after the match I'm going to call her, fly out there and ask her on a real date."

* * *

She finished with the dishes and stacked them all for drying when she heard the phone ringing off the hook in the other room. Throwing her dish towel down, she ran for the phone, and reached it just as the last ring ended. 

"Hell—Hello?" she stammered out of breath from the jog to the phone and the rush she had gotten wondering if it might be Randy calling her.

"Stay the hell away from Randy."

Trish picked up the receiver and stared at it in shock, trying to figure out what she had just heard.

"Who is this?"

"Trish, for god sakes, do not screw with another one of my friends alright. Just listen to what I'm telling you and dump him for the reunion."

She immediately knew who the voice was, and she now understood the reason he was calling. A few years back she had gone on one date with Shawn Michaels, and it had turned out horribly for both of them. She had thought that it was all behind her, but now Paul was calling her trying to dig up old wounds.

"Paul, I will not break the date for his reunion. He asked me as a favor and as his friend you should understand that. This is really none of your business, so I suggest you stay out of it. Goodbye now."

She hung up the phone and walked back towards the kitchen when the phone started shrieking at her again. Thinking it was Paul again she immediately went back and picked it up.

"Go to hell would you?"

"I would but its too hot there this time of year." came the voice at the other end of the line.

She had heard that voice before and instantly her heart almost burst out of her chest. The instant she realized it was Randy she felt like an idiot.

"I am so sorry, I thought you were someone else. Whats up hun?"

She almost smacked herself silly again after realizing she had called him hun. But when he spoke next, she almost threw the phone away in joy.

"I'm wondering if you're busy right now?"

"Actually no, I just finished up some house work and I was planning on lying down. Why do you ask?"

"Because I need to come in before i freeze my buns off. Do you think you can oblige?"

* * *


	8. The Truth

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Genre:** Romance and Dramatic

**Authors Notes:** I know it has taken awhile for me to continue this but I needed to work out some of the kinks in my mind and make sure that in the end I could still write it the way it needs to be written. So here you are, the next update, and there will be another one to follow in two days from now as I am writing it right after I write this one. Thank you for your interest in this story and as always review and read and let me know what you think!

* * *

She opened the door, and immediately pushed Randy, who was not lying about freezing through the door and kicking it closed with her leg as she turned her back on it. She waited patiently as he slid his jacket off and handed it to her to put away, and he sat down on her sofa as she did. 

"So you want to tell me what possessed you to come out here in the middle of winter?" she asked, hanging that jacket up and away and closing the door behind her. She turned to walk to the sofa but found that Randy was no longer sitting there, but pacing back and forth around it. "Better yet, why the heck are you pacing around the sofa? You are going to wear holes in the carpet."

Randy smiled and stopped in place. He took a long hard look at the beautiful woman before him. The woman who had said yes to coming to his reunion, only three days away and hadn't had a second thought about anything since. Her blond hair was flowing down her back but she looked comfortable like that, and he found himself wanting to get as comfortable in his own skin as she seemed to be in hers.

He had been able to do nothing but think about her since the last time they were together and he knew he was a goner. He was slowing falling in love with the woman before him now, and as much as he wanted to tell her, because he wanted to share the world with her, he knew that telling her that might just scare her away and he might not get to show her off at the reunion or anytime after for that matter.

"Sorry about the pacing, I guess I figured it would warm me up. How can you live here when its colder then a witches teat outside?"

Trish laughed and made her way to the sofa and quickly took a seat, patting the cushion beside her, allowing Randy the option to come and sit beside her, and also allowing him the knowledge that she didn't bite.

"I grew up here, this is nothing like what I am used to of course but I wouldn't change it. I love the cold, the snow and the beauty of the season. I know that a lot of wrestlers hate the winter and hate to come here during it, but if I didn't come home I would go insane, no matter what time of year. Now answer my earlier question, what the heck are you doing here?"

Did he tell her that he was here because he wanted to take her on a date before they went on their reunion date? Could he possibly do it now that he was standing right in front of this angelic young woman? He might come across as an ass on television but when he stood here now, he felt more like a school boy right before the big fight with the class bully. He was shaking in his proverbial boots.

"Did you not understand the question Randy? Or is something wrong and you can't find the words to tell me?" Trish asked, worried now with the look displayed on the mans face before her. He had never looked at anyone this way, let alone her in the past few days, and it really irked her more then she wanted to admit.

"Look this isn't easy for me but I figure I might as well do it and get it over with. Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight or tomorrow night before we have to go back to work and we never get to see each other before the reunion? I know you probably do not even think of me that way and are probably doing this because you feel you need to since I didn't ask anyone else, but I really would like to go out with you because I like you and--"

"Are you done?" Trish interrupted, wanting him to calm down and take a breath before he passed on right here on her sofa. She had been asked out by a good many men in her lifetime, but none of them had asked her like this, and with so much oxygen. "Yes Randy, I will go out with you tomorrow night before I have to fly out for the house show."

"See I knew you were going to say that and I should have known you wouldn't want to go out with a guy like me, what with my reputation in the locker rooms and so forth. Wait a second, what did you say?" He asked then, realizing that he hadn't expected her to say yes and while he knew that she just had, he needed to hear it again.

"I said I would go out with you Randy. I was wondering how long it was going to take you to ask me. I figured if you didn't ask me to dinner before the reunion, I would do the only thing I could and ask you myself. I mean what did you think I was going to say after we shared that kiss? No?"

Randy blushed as he remembered the kiss they had shared in this very house not too long ago. It had been electric and had sent shock waves through his entire system. Something no other woman on this earth had even done for him. Of course that was one of the reasons he wanted to go out with her, but the other reason was that deep inside she was a really good person and he just needed to be near her to feel that.

"There is something you need to know though, and I don't think you are going to like it."

Randy looked up and into her eyes as she spoke. He nodded his head, confirming that he indeed wanted her to continue with what she had to tell him and as she spoke the words, he felt the blood rush to his head.

"Paul called me earlier tonight, and warned me away from you. If I don't listen to him, I'm afraid something bad could happen, either to you or to me. I need to let you know because you all work together, and I don't want to put any pressure on you when you have to see them all the time."

Randy put his head in his hands, trying to rub the headache that was now forming away from him. What the hell was Paul up too and how far was he going to take this whole Trish hating thing he had going? Randy knew that he didn't like her, that there was past shit between the two of them, but he really hadn't figured that Paul would take such offense to Randy wanting to go out with one of the hottest Divas on the roster.

"Don't worry about Paul or about anything that happens between us. He is just pissed that he never got the chance to be with someone like you and I have to say, I'm glad he didn't because I like being the one you are taking a chance on."

* * *


	9. The First Date Part One

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Authors Note:** Another day, another update. I hope you all like this and where I take it this chapter. Let me know!

* * *

_**First Official Date – 1 Day Remaining**_

She glanced at the clock, trying to urge the minutes to move quicker. Here she was all decked out for a dinner with a most unlikely man and she found herself not being able to wait. Of all of the men in the locker room that could have gotten down on one knee so to speak and asked her out, she had said yes to the one known as a playboy.

"He is only going out with you as a pity date before he takes you to the reunion Trish, that is all this is. Don't put more into it that isn't there."

She had been telling her the same thing all week. That all Randy's talk of liking her and being with her in Toronto and on the road with their shows, was just talk and nothing more. She was doing him the favor of going to his reunion with him and while she knew already that he was thankful for her to do that, she did sense there was more there. But she just chalked it up to being a woman and wanting there to be more too it when there couldn't be.

Paul had been right the entire time. She really was the locker room whore it seemed, since at one time, when she had first joined, she had gone out with pretty much anyone and everyone. But she had changed since those days back then, she knew she had grown into her own in terms of her career and also as a person. She now knew what she wanted to find and could only hope to find. She knew she needed someone who understood the business and the toll it would take on her body and her mind over the years. She needed a caring man, a man with a soft touch.

If she silently closed her eyes and thought about it she knew that Randy was all of those things and more. He had shown himself to be so much more in their short time together getting to know each other and she found that she ached to know what it would be like to be in his arms for more then just a one night stand. She wanted to spend the next eighty years of her life knowing what it felt like to be loved by this one man.

"But he doesn't love you, he only needs you for this one event." she stated to herself again, not afraid to let her thoughts speak their mind in the middle of her living room. The walls of her home would not tell her of her insanity, and she wouldn't care if they did. It beat the alternative to what people believed of her. Paul was a prime example of that.

She looked at the clock again, debating whether or not to just cancel this date before things became even more complicated for either of them. Randy was a nice man, he deserved better then he thought he was getting.

"Stop thinking that! You are going on this date and you are going to like it and thats the end of it."

The doorbell rang then, shaking Trish right from the top of her head to the soles of her stiletto heels. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall and then back at the door. She then realized what was happening. Randy had shown up more then fifteen minutes early!

Pushing some fluff off of her dress and checking her hair in the hallway mirror beside the door, assured that she did indeed look stunning, she unattached the lock to the door and turned the knob, opening the door to a very well dressed Randy Orton on her doorstep.

She took a minute to scan him and take in the sight before her. He was indeed one of the hottest looking men she had ever had the chance to go out with and only made more hot by the way he treated her and the way he wanted to take care of her.

He wore a tuxedo or what looked very much like one, but not in the normal black coloring that most of them came in. This one was a royal blue, almost like the color of her very own eyes, and the tie he had attached to it shocked her. For a man Randy's age, she had sort of seen him as a man that wouldn't be able to knot his own tie and would have to run home to Mother to do it. But here he was now with a knotted tie in perfect order.

As she motioned for him to come into the house, she smelt him as he passed her and she almost fainted dead away. He was wearing Cool Water, a scent she had gotten attached to when she had briefly dated Jeff Hardy, who was known to try just about any fragrance. But this one had stuck with her and as Randy walked by her now she felt her knees go weak.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked lightly, his smile sure to light up a darkened room in a heartbeat. Sort of like he was doing to her heart at the moment. She felt the pounding so heavy she thought she might lose all sense of space and time if she didn't speak now.

"I'm ready." she said, as Randy held out his arm for her to hold onto. If there was a record for the most gentlemanly man in the world, she would have to put Randy high up on that list. No one had ever gone out of their way this way before and she found herself loving every minute of it.

_He is just being polite._ The voice said, and the minute the words hit, she took one look at Randy's beaming face and let all thoughts of what it said run out of her mind. She was going to enjoy herself tonight and nothing was going to get in the way of it, least of all her overactive imagination.

* * *

"So you got the plan? You know what it is I want you to do?" Paul said into the phone, awaiting the person on the other end to speak and acknowledge what he was saying. 

"Yes sir, I got it loud and clear."

"And you will have the girl at the restaurant when they arrive?"

The voice nodded and then spoke his affirmative action. Paul Levesque had paid him a gold mine to come between his partner Randy Orton and this woman Paul had mentioned and there was no way he was going to let the big man down. Not for the money he was getting paid.

"Good, call me when the job is done. For God sakes do not mess this up for me man. I want Randy Orton's head back in the Evolution game, no matter what the cost to his personal life."

Paul slammed the phone down and smiled evilly. There was no way that Trish Stratus was going to use her powers on his friend, no way in hell. He would have to be dead first. He only hoped this plan went off without a hitch.

* * *


	10. The First Date Part Two

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Authors Notes:** Thank you for any and all reviews on this story. I have now finished working on another one of my longer stories so I can put my focus back into this one. This will not turn out as long as my others, but really from the beginning it was supposed to be a shorter story, so that it shall remain. I hope you like where this story has been going, and in the end I hope you like where it ends up. Thank you for any and all time you have spent reading and reviewing. Means a lot to me.

* * *

**First Date – 1 Day Remaining**

From the moment they stepped through the doors of the restaurant, their voices almost hoarse from all of the laughing and talking they had one on the limo ride there, Trish was stunned. He had found one of the best five star restaurants in her city and she was taken aback at just how much work he probably had to do to get the table here to begin with.

As they waited to be seating, she felt Randy rub his arm over her shoulder, and she instantly felt the heat that it generated there. It felt like the right spot for them to be at in that moment and she felt a calm come over her. Everything was so easy with him, so normal feeling. Usually when she went on dates, it was never this comfortable and she had to work hard to make people see the real her, and not just the one she played on television. But with Randy, she assumed because he was in the same predicament, it just flowed naturally. When the waiter appeared to take them to their seats, she had to hide her disappointment as he took his arm away from her shoulder. The heat still keeping the spot warm.

As they took their seats, Randy looked up from the menu he had been given and cast a look in Trish's direction. Of all the places he expected to be the night before his high school reunion, this was not one of them. He had never pictured himself in Toronto, let alone with the woman who was now sitting before him in the restaurant. He could feel eyes on him then, and knew they were being watched. He scanned the room and not noticing anyone staring his way, he put it out of his mind and looked again back at Trish.

She really was a beauty in every sense of the word. She was smart, opinionated, she had a wonderful laugh when she got going, and he just felt like she getting under his skin the more time he spent with her. He had to admit, that asking her to the reunion had been the simplest of gestures, but he was finding out more and more as time wore on that he liked being around her, and he liked the feelings she brought out in him. She made him feel like a better man then he could be by just being around him. He liked the feeling.

"There is so much on this menu that i would die to try. I haven't the slightest idea what I want!" she exclaimed then, causing Randy to again look back down at the menu and chuckle to himself. It was only when she flicked his menu with her fingernails, knocking it into his face that he realized he had chuckled a little too loudly.

"You tell me that you know what you want and then maybe I won't take that offensively, you laughing at me." she said, a smile playing on her lips and causing Randy's heart to skip a beat.

"No I agree with you, I just think its funny that you had to tell the whole restaurant that."

She then blushed a deep crimson red and covered her face in her hands. She hadn't realized she had spoken so loudly, but scanning the room quickly, she realized all eyes were now on her. So much for going under the radar.

"Sorry Randy, I didn't mean to call attention to you, or me for that matter."

Randy put the menu down, and took hers, doing the same. It was then that he grabbed her hand and placed it into his, feeling her soft skin meet with his and he took a look at just how fragile she really was. "Don't worry about it, tonight is about us getting to know each other, to have a good time, and I don't care who knows it."

She smiled then, the blush starting to fade from her cheeks. By the time the waiter came back and had taken the orders, her coloring was back to normal and she was enjoying a slow sip of the red wine Randy had ordered.

"So are you looking forward to tomorrow night? Seeing all of your old school friends again?" Trish asked, keeping her voice to a drawl. She didn't want to call attention to herself anymore that evening if she had too.

"I never really did get the whole high school thing, so to tell you the truth, other then having you on my arm, and being able to dance with you, be around you, I am not looking forward to it one bit. All these things are, is a breeding ground for people to brag about old times, or about how much money they have made since leaving. I mean every one knew my father was a wrestler, so they knew I would eventually end up there too. So nothing really for me to brag about."

"I could think of a few things." She whispered then and immediately covered her mouth and looked down towards her glass. Sometimes when she was thinking something, it came out, just like now and she needed to really learn how to curb it.

"What exactly do you mean by that Ms. Stratus?" he asked, a tiny smile playing at the corners of his mouth, making the dimple he had shine right through.

"I just meant that you were in the service at one point, you have made a pretty big name for yourself and you make millions a year wrestling all over the world. I think you have done pretty damn good for yourself and you should be able to brag about it."

As he listened to her tell him what she thought he should be bragging about, he couldn't believe that she saw him the way that she did. Not many people talked to him about his years in the Service and what that had been like, and when they did, they never looked at it like he had accomplished anything. But sitting here now, his heart felt warmed that the lady before him did think that and wasn't afraid to tell him so.

"And here I was thinking you meant that I should brag because I would have the most stunning woman in the world on my arm."

She blushed then, just as the waiter brought their food. She smiled up at him as he placed the food in front of her, and then she immediately dug into the food. There was so much she could say to him right now in response to that comment, but she instead chose the easy way out and kept silent. They still had the rest of the night ahead of them to figure out what was going on between them.

* * *

An hour later, after both of them had stuffed themselves on dinner and then a strawberry dessert, they sat back, enjoying the last of the red wine and talking.

Randy knew this was how it was going to be when he asked her out. He knew what he was feeling from her and towards her was no joke, and that it was very real. She was real and he loved that about her. The fact that every topic was being spoken about just made him that much more comfortable with her. He had gone on dates before, a lot of them, seeing as he was known to be a playboy, but never once had he had this reaction to any woman. He always thought they were beneath him but Trish was changing that opinion in spades.

She was his equal on every format and every topic and he knew instantly that if there was ever a woman he wanted to marry, this would be the one. He needed that, someone to be his equal, to call him on his bullshit and just overall understand and accept him, faults and all.

"Now if you will excuse me, I am going to the ladies room. Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone." Trish stated, pushing her chair back from the table and standing up. Randy stood as well, the polite thing to do when a lady stood from the table and then took his seat again. As he watched her walk to the back of the restaurant towards the ladies room, he couldn't believe he had actually found someone he might consider marrying.

It was then that the lady came to the table and smiled down at him. He thought he had seen her somewhere before but he couldn't place her. So when she spoke to him, he figured it was safe to go along with it. It was probably just a fan he had that wanted another autograph. After his dates outburst earlier in the night, he knew it was only a matter of time before they started flocking.

What he didn't realize is that Trish had come out of the ladies room then and was making her way back to the table. So when she saw the young woman talking to Randy, she stood silently off to the side to listen and watch the exchange.

"Oh Randy, it is so good to see you. It's been forever. I am so glad you asked me to come here tonight."

The woman then proceeded to sit down into Randy's lap, making a complete spectacle of herself and not even caring about who might be looking at them. It was then that she placed her lips on Randy's hard and wet and kissed him. Before he knew what was happening, he noticed out of the corner of his eyes, Trish standing by, a look of shock on her now saddened face.

"What is going on here Randy? Who is this girl?" she asked, her voice a dull murmur, her face not showing any sort of emotion at all.

"Hi, the name is Savannah, I am an ex girlfriend of Randy's. He said he was going to be in town and to hook up with him here, so well here I am. Now who the hell are you?" the woman questioned, eyes of steel glaring over at Trish, who was now close to tears.

She had known about his reputation in the locker room, and had tried her best to overlook it. People always said things about her that were untrue and she just assumed it was the same with Randy. After all of the little time they had spent together she had thought he was a totally different guy then this. But seeing the woman, all over him now, she knew she had been wrong the entire time.

"I'm Trish, and I'm leaving. Excuse me." She said, grabbing her purse. She knew she had taken a huge chance going out with Randy tonight, when her nerves told her that they would never be anything more then what they were. Partners in the same business. As she made her way out of the restaurant, asking the maitre D to call her a cab, she threw one more look back at him and saw the look that shocked her to the core. He looked genuinely hurt.

"He can't be as hurt as I am. I can't believe I fell for it."

* * *

"It's over Sir, it went down as planned and Ms. Stratus is on her way back to her home. Alone and in a cab. Mr. Orton is still sitting at the bar of the restaurant, no doubt nursing his pain with booze."

Paul shook his head and laughed loudly. The plan had gone down just as he had wanted it too and he couldn't be happier. Randy would get over this, and he would go back to being the playboy he was known for being, and Evolution would live on, without the likes of Trish coming between them.

"I warned her to leave him alone and now she got what was coming to her. You did good work and will be payed as such."

He hung up the phone then a smile still playing on his lips. He hadn't wanted to hurt his friend, but he knew what Trish was about and he knew that Randy was too good for a woman like her. Any man was too good for her and he was only glad he had done it now before Randy had gotten in too deep.

He thought then, about a time over six years before, when Trish had first started with the business and before he and Stephanie had gotten together as a couple. He had been interested in the young beauty from Toronto, he wanted nothing more then to get her alone and screw her brains out. When she had turned him down, to instead go for his best friend Shawn, well that had spurned him more then he had liked.

He had vowed to never let this woman come between him and his business and friends ever again. He couldn't rid the company of her, which he had tried on numerous occasions, but he could make sure that she never came close to those he loved. Which is why he had to do what he did this night. He had to tear Randy away from her and wake him up.

Randy had to know she was dangerous, to him, to Paul and to the future of Evolution. He would know it now and he would come back with his tail between his legs. Let him take Savannah to the reunion, she was much better suited for a one night stand man like Randy.

But secretly, he also, still reliving his past heartbreak with Trish, wished that he could see her face right now as she realized she had been had. That she was alone and would remain that way as long as he had breath in his body.

* * *


	11. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Authors Notes:** Another update for this one today, I hope you all like it and it has been quite the ride for this story, two years in the making. It will be nearing its end soon so be on the lookout for more updates before the weekend comes.

He sat at the bar, nursing his drink, going over the nights events and just what had gone wrong. What had that woman been doing there and coming on to him no less? Why had she lied and said she was an old girlfriend when she hadn't been anything remotely close? Why had she chosen him and just what had she hoped to gain by doing what she did?

All of these questions kept swirling through his mind and all he wanted to do right now was shut them off. Trish had had every right to walk out on him after that woman had placed her lips on his. All he had smelled off of her was stale cigarettes and beer and the thought of it now made him sick. He flashed back to the first time he had kissed Trish and how she had tasted like strawberries and cream. Come to think of it, she always smelled like that so why shouldn't she taste that sweet too?

God he had really messed everything up this time. He knew he shouldn't be sitting at the bar and he should be going to her and making everything right before he went back home to his reunion tomorrow. He knew instantly that she was no longer going to want to go with him and that every stupid thing he had ever done didn't compare to the way he felt right now. He had the perfect girl to go home with, to even show to his parents, and he had ruined it all.

No she had ruined it all. That stupid blond woman who called herself Savannah. Just as he was about to find out what the hell her game was, she had taken off from the restaurant and he couldn't figure it out. Now that he was alone and she was witnessed Trish running out on him, shouldn't she have stayed? Wasn't that the whole idea.

His cell phone rang then, and fishing it out of his pocket, he noticed the familiar ring tone and knew instantly that the night wouldn't get any worse then it already had. He looked at the phone, debating whether or not to turn the damn thing off and never pick it up again but he knew he would catch hell if he did. If anything he knew the caller on the other end of the phone would not give up.

"What do you want Paul?" he asked, bitterness seething from his voice.

"I just wanted to check in and see if you're ready for your reunion tomorrow buddy. I know you aren't looking forward to it."

Just what the hell was Paul trying to get at? He had warned Randy about getting involved with Trish and when he had found out that he was indeed going to take her to the reunion he had blown a blood vessel in his head. Just why would he be calling right now? To bother him some more about his now broken plans for tomorrow night?

"I think I'm not even going to go." he choked out, anger still fuming underneath the mask of pain.

"Why would you do that Randy, you made plans to go back home and deal with it. Aren't you taking Trish anymore?"

The minute he uttered Trish's name and the venom he normally had when saying her name was no longer there, he knew instantly what had happened. He opened his eyes wider as it all hit him. He knew why he recognized the woman who had been in his lap earlier. It was because she had been one of Paul's whores when they had all gotten together as Evolution. She hadn't made the cut and stuck around for the long haul but he suddenly remembered her and why she hadn't made it. The same smell that lingered on her then still had now.

"I can't believe you, you sick son of a bitch." he yelled into the phone, not caring who heard him and not caring if he got kicked out of the restaurant. Without his date there, he didn't care about anything he did anymore.

"Randy what the hell is going on with you? Are you drinking?" Paul said, innocently as possible, not wanting to let on that he had the slightest idea what had gotten into his friend.

"Oh you know what has gotten into me you asshole. You set this whole thing up didn't you? I bet you were watching as she ran out of the restaurant on me. God Paul, I knew you hated her, but to do this and to me of all people? I can't believe you would go that low."

He waited with baited breath for his so called friend to comment on what he had said and when no response came, he knew he had hit his target right on. Paul had been a many things to him over the years, but he had never done anything like this to their friendship.

"Just what were you hoping to gain man?"

"That slut has no business being with one of us."

"That isn't your God Damned decision to make Paul. In case you have forgotten I run my own damn life. So thank you so much for putting your nose in where it didn't belong yet again and ruining my reunion and my time off. Consider me out of Evolution as soon as I get back to work. You are going to pay for this."

He slammed the phone closed then and threw some cash on the center of the bar. He knew now what he had to do, he only hoped it wasn't too late for her to hear him out.

_I told you he wasn't interested in you for anything other then a good roll in the hay. You shouldn't have gone out with him tonight. He made a fool of you and you deserved it._

For the past hour her brain had been saying variations of the same comments over and over again and despite trying to rest and even making a tea to fall asleep, nothing seemed to help shut them off. They did have a point though, she had warned herself away from him and hadn't listened. So she deserved exactly how she felt at that moment.

Staring out the back door of her kitchen into the barely there yard she was having installed, she looked up at the moon. In all its brightness she had hoped to be kissing Randy in its glow tonight and instead she found herself alone and trying to sleep in her home.

Just how stupid was she? Thinking that she would mean anything to any one other then her family other then a roll in the hay. She had come to expect that of all of the wrestlers on the roster, but had been changed in her opinions by Randy.

She closed her eyes and pictured the woman in the restaurant, her breasts plastered as close to Randy's face as they could get. Her lips entangled in his and her arms wrapped around his neck. God the thought of it was making her sick but she couldn't put it out of her mind for one second. All she kept replaying was the woman admitting to being his girlfriend and having been invited there by Randy himself.

Jesus she had been taken for a ride alright, and she should have known better. He was the playboy of the WWE. The one that thought he could get away with anything and still keep his main event stature. It made her sick to think that if Randy had wanted to come in with her tonight she might have even slept with him. She really had fallen for the man, and ever single movement he made or said only made her fall more so.

_You need to stop putting your heart on the line when you go out with someone._

She almost wanted to laugh and cry at the same time as her mind again shot out another true comment. She had put her heart on the line with Randy more then anyone before him because she had believed him to be different the rest. How completely wrong she had been. Now she could only imagine what the people in the locker room would think of her once she returned next week.

He was going to make sure this was all over the locker room and ruin her even more then she had been the last couple of years with Paul and Shawn. Another guy she had liked and had it fail. She hadn't told anyone that she had really liked Shawn, not even the man himself, but when he had gotten married, she had put it behind her. Too bad the two men hadn't. Paul had made sure that her name was spread all over the locker room as the slut who put out on the first date.

Sure she had slept with Shawn, the one time, but it was because she felt a connection and thought he had too. Too bad he hadn't and they hadn't really talked since. Even though he had claimed to change in that time, she knew that a leopard really never did totally change. Case in point was Randy Orton.

The knock came then, shaking her to the core and making her stomach drop down, she was sure to the floor.

Just who would be coming by here now? It surely wouldn't be Randy, who was probably off getting his jollies with that whore from the restaurant.

She opened the door, baseball bat in hand, and saw the face of the one man she hadn't figured would come here tonight. His face was downcast, stubble already starting to kick in from five o'clock shadow way past time, and he looked as if he had been drinking. The smell just radiated off him.

"You can use that bat on me if you want but all I want is five minutes of your time."

Feeling badly that he was looking so sick looking, she tossed the bat back behind the door and motioned for him to come in. Call it her good nature but she always did want to fix the puppies that needed fixing.

"You've got five minutes to tell me whatever it is you have to tell me and then I want you out of here. I want you to leave town and never come back, at least not to my house."

Randy sat down and looked up at her. How was he going to make her believe him and what he had found out?

"What happened tonight, you have to believe me when I tell you that I didn't know who the hell that was that kissed me. I mean I didn't want her to kiss me and had no idea she was going to do it. She did it for your benefit, because she was probably paid to do it. I would never have asked an old girlfriend to come with me when I was on a date with another woman. A woman I happen to respect a lot more then I respect myself right now."

Trish took it all in, everything he was saying and immediately she wondered how much of what he was telling her was the truth. He had been known to lie in the past, but there was a part of her, most likely her heart that wanted to believe him.

"Well who paid her and why would they want to do that?"

"Think for a second for me. Who called you and threatened you away from me the other night? Who wants me to go alone to my reunion or to take some slut I can bang and then come back to work from? Who wants us both unhappy the most out of everyone we collectively know?"

It hit her then, the one person that hated her and wanted her out of the WWE more then anything. And he had certainly tried to get her out too. But it had never worked and now he was going about it in a different way. He knew that the only way to get her to back off Randy was to make him look like he was cheating on her even though they weren't officially together. Paul Levesque had set the whole damn thing up.

"I can't believe it."

He swallowed hard, and spoke again, truly disgusted and wanting to be anywhere but here explaining away a bad incident. He wanted to be here with her and making love with her, whispering how much he loved her so that she would never doubt it again. Hell he even wanted to marry this girl. Not be talking about this.

"It's true, he called me earlier and without realizing it, gave himself away."

She sat down beside him on the sofa then, and she lightly placed her hand on his leg. She should have known something like this would happen but in her fear of not being what Randy needed, she had been blinded to the onset of it. She knew Paul hated her and would stop at nothing. Instead of hearing him out back at the restaurant, she had run out and now he was sitting here, probably pissed drunk and feeling horrible.

"I'm sorry Randy, I should have figured you wouldn't have done that."

"Well I am the Playboy of the WWE right so why would you believe anything else?"

She knew the reason she wanted to give here, but she knew it might not come out right and it didn't seem appropriate to put her heart out there and have him return it to her smashed. She gulped down some air, and wrapped her arms around Randy in a hug.

"What are we going to do now?" she choked out, wanting to know if she was still his date for the reunion despite judging him the way she had.

"We are going to go home, I am going to show you off the way you deserve to be and then when we get home, we're going to deal with Paul together."

He pulled away from her then and looked her deep in the eyes. He had never felt anything like what he felt for this woman now, and if he stopped breathing tomorrow he knew he would die a happy man because he had gotten to know her and was shown a piece of her heart.

He touched her cheek gently and moved his lips in, grazing hers. She instantly wrapped her arms around his body and kissed him back with as much passion as she could. She wanted this, whether he was drunk or not, and she knew that when she awoke in the morning, it would be beside the man she loved.


	12. The Proposal

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to the WWE or its Superstars. Anything related to real life is purely a coincidence.

**Summary:** Randy Orton has a job to do, to make it to his high school reunion with his heart in tact. Will he make it to the end of the night? Or will a most unlikely woman step into the scene and take it away?

**Authors Notes:** Last chapter alert! I figured I would end this at the reunion so look for that to be coming up now. Also to any and all reviewers, I thank you for the reviews and be checking your email box for a reply to your last review so you can get my individual thank you notes. On with the ending of this one shall we?

* * *

The arrived at the hotel an hour before the reunion and as they both walked up to check in, Randy remembered something he had forgotten to mention earlier on the flight. With his thoughts full of Trish and the last time they were together, it had totally slipped his mind.

"I screwed up the reservations."

She stopped walking and threw him a look. "What do you mean you screwed up the reservations Randy? We do have a room here tonight don't we?"

Randy laughed lightly and pulled her with him as he started walking through the long walkway to the front desk. "Yes I made them, but I just remembered I got two separate rooms. I booked them when i didn't know who I was taking so I made sure we both had a room."

Trish breathed a sigh of relief as they finally reached the desk. Randy handed over his credit card and stated his name, Trish following suit until he stopped her. "I asked you to do this, so there is no way in hell I am making you pay for your own room."

She proceeded to put the card back in her purse, all the while taking in the man who stood before her. If anyone had asked her over a week ago if she ever thought she would be here in Randy's hometown, going to his high school reunion with him, more dizzy with love then she had ever been in her life, she would have laughed in their face. But as she stood there now, she knew there was no where in this world she would rather be.

"Earth to Trish, we're all checked in, are you ready to head upstairs and get ready?"

She came out of her thoughts and smiled, taking her hand and placing it in his before heading for the elevators down on their left. She still got giddy thinking about the way her palms sweat when holding his hand and how school girl it felt just to be around him. It was almost dizzying.

"I'm sorry about the rooms. I didn't realize I was going to be coming with you, or for that matter that we would have spent the night before the reunion in your bed in Toronto. I just never saw any of this coming."

She patted him on the arm as they got into the elevator. It was nice that he was worried about her being upset, but she had to make sure he knew there was nothing to be upset about. Randy had actually gone ahead and done the right thing, not wanting to be with a woman when all he really needed from her was a date for the reunion. He was going about the entire event as if it was a business venture and she admired him for it. He definitely wasn't the same man she had thought he was two weeks before.

"Don't worry about it, at the very least I can get dressed and primped without you wanting me to get back into the bed like you did this morning. Which by the way, if I had succumbed too, would have made us late. Thank goodness one of us kept their wits about them."

Randy laughed and squeezed her hand. He wanted to tell her right now that he loved her, and that the night they had spent together in Toronto had been the best experience of his life, but he knew that it wasn't the right time. The right time would come, but there was no sense in rushing it along now and making her think she had to return the comment as well.

"You liked me dragging you back to bed, I didn't hear you complaining."

"Thats because you kissed me so I couldn't think straight. Don't try and get out of this one mister."

They got off on their floor, still holding hands, almost too afraid to let go. But as Randy reached his room, and handed Trish her key, for the room right beside his, he knew he had to let go or they would never get to where they needed to be later this evening.

"How long does it take for a princess like you to get primped?" he questioned, rubbing his arms on the small of her neck, smirking as he heard her moan with pleasure at the feeling.

"Longer then you think. You know if I had any smarts at all I would say screw this reunion of yours and we could just take the rest of the night in one of our rooms."

"You would seriously want to do that?" he asked, cutting her off before she had a chance to finish the thought.

"No I wouldn't because it took a lot for you to want to come to this thing. You actually went around interviewing Diva's for a date. So there is no way we are going to miss this, or the looks we will get when we walk in together. Or rather when you walk in with me on your arm."

Randy kissed her lightly on the lips before she scanned the card into the slot and walked through her door. He watched her until she shut the door behind her and he couldn't help the grin that was permanently on his face. He scanned his own card and entered the room, all the while thinking about what he had planned for later tonight at the very reunion he had dreaded coming to.

* * *

He walked into the jewelry store with a purpose. He had no idea what he was going to get but he knew that he had to get something that matched her personality and style. He wanted to give her something that would make her always remember this night together, and make her happy that she had said yes.

_She does not need a gift to know that you appreciate her. She already knows._

His mind was getting the better of him, but he forged on with the plan. He knew what he had planned might come out of left field for her, but after their night together, and all of the nights together before that and ones they would have as their relationship went on, he knew that what he was doing was the right thing. He knew deep inside that she cared about him and tonight he wanted to show her just how much of an impact she had made on him.

As he made his way over to the rings, his cell phone rang. The heavy rock theme song ringing loud and clear through the entire store. He was going to regret making his theme music with Evolution his ring tone. At the very least he did at this moment.

"Hello?"

"Randy, Vince McMahon here. How is the reunion?"

What the hell was Vince McMahon doing calling him right now? Couldn't any business with the WWE wait until he came back officially tomorrow morning? Surely this couldn't be a social call.

"It hasn't started yet but I am looking forward to it. What can I do for you Vince?"

Vince was quiet then, so quiet that Randy started to wonder just what the hell was going on. He knew something was up when Vince had identified himself, but now with the silence, it made it ten times worse.

"I have been talking with Paul Randy, and after a lengthy talk about some of your recent actions, we feel that we need to have a meeting tomorrow morning before the show tomorrow night."

So Paul was behind this call. Randy could only imagine what Paul had spread to him and how it was going to affect his career in the WWE, let alone what short time he had left with Evolution. Just what was Paul trying to pull here and what did he hope to gain?

"Fine Vince, I can be there on the first flight out tomorrow morning. Look if you don't mind I need to get going to the reunion now. We'll talk tomorrow."

Before he could hang up the phone he heard Vince talking in the background to someone. He put the phone back to his ear and listened until Vince hung up.

"Don't worry Paul. When he comes in tomorrow, we'll fire him."

Randy flipped the phone closed and ran his hands through what little hair he had. What was he going to do now?

* * *

She waited in her room, pacing back and forth and wondering if her hair was still in place. She stared at her watch again, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming and that they were indeed late to the reunion. Just what the hell had happened to Randy?

She had been hoping that she could shock him with her dress choice when he came by the room to pick her up, but now that the time was now half past the hour and they were late, she knew she would have to go looking for him. She grabbed her purse, one to match her black, strapless dress, and she grabbed her shawl. Closing the door behind her she headed for his room, hearing the music even before she stepped foot outside her door.

She took her fist to the door and banged as hard as she could. When no one answered, she yelled, hoping that Randy was indeed in the room still and hadn't just left the stereo running. He had insisted that when he got ready for any sort of match, or event he always needed his music. So she had supplied the mini stereo that now blasted through the walls. Not her brightest moment.

The door opened then and a look of shock came over her face. Standing before her, shirt off, his dress pants not even completely done up was Randy, and he looked like he had been run over by a mack truck.

"Randy, what the hell are you doing? We're late."Trish said, pushing her way past him and into the room. She wanted to know what was going on and she wanted to know now. As she passed by him she swore she smelled the faintest scent of whiskey on his breath.

"Have you been drinking?" she questioned immediately.

"Yes, I'm kind of having a bad night. Do you have a problem with that?"

She looked at him then, and put her hands to his face. With one quick motion she slapped him, causing an immediate red mark to break out on his cheek, but she was sure he would be fine. She needed to get through to him and at this point, the asshole in him was breaking through, the slap was to keep it away.

"You don't want to know how much of a problem I am going to have with that if you do not start getting dressed right now. What the heck is going on?"

Randy stared at her, her eyes turning Grey as they had the night that she had walked out on him at the restaurant. The way her eyes turned color made him think of the way he felt inside right now and that if his eyes could do it, they would certainly show how much pain he was in. He wanted to tell her what had happened when he had been out, but if he admitted why he had gone out then the whole surprise would be shattered. Not that there was much of one left to spring on her now anyway. He was pretty much fired.

"Randy please, tell me why you are drinking and why you aren't dressed. We need to get to your reunion."

He looked at her again and took her hand into his, just needing to feel it in his again. To remember the feeling that she sparked in him because right now he felt so low he was afraid he had forgotten what she felt like.

"I wanted to surprise you tonight with a present, so I went out earlier, and well Vince called me while I was out."

Trish nodded for him to continue and tightened her own grip around his hand. She knew that whatever was bothering him was serious enough for him to want to miss showing himself and her off at the reunion, something he had been giddy about all day. Not to mention he was drinking, something he had told her he only did when he was either pissed off or really hurt by something. She had learned all of this from talking to him in the wee hours of the morning after their love making and she was glad he could be so open with her. She only hoped he could do the same thing now.

"Paul got to him, and told him something, Lord only knows what and now Vince wants a meeting with me tomorrow morning. That wasn't the part that upset me so much. When he thought I had hung up I heard him talking to someone in the background. Someone I assume was Paul since this was all done by him anyway. He fired me Trish. He told Paul that I was as good as fired tomorrow morning."

She broke free of Randy's grasp and walked them over to the bed where she pushed him down and then proceeded to sit down in his lap to wrap her arms around him. "Baby, this is horrible. I can only imagine what you feel like right now, this business meaning so much to you. But maybe if this is the way Paul wants to run things then you might be better off."

Randy looked at her, questions running through his mind and showing through his eyes. He knew that she was only trying to say the right things but did she have any idea what she had just said at all? How could not being with the WWE be the right thing for him?

"There you go again, not letting me finish before you read me wrong. Look, if Paul wants a game, then why don't we give him one? If he thinks he can run over you and get you fired then lets see what Vince thinks when I show up with you tomorrow and I quit and take my title with me."

Randy was shocked at what she said and let her know so. "You would actually do something like that?"

"Don't you get it yet Randy, I would do anything for you."

He kissed her then, knowing that she wasn't going to like the taste of the liquor on his breath, but knowing that in that one little statement, she had let him know in so many words that she loved him. He hadn't heard the exact words, but for Randy, he didn't need too. Because her willing to sacrifice her title and her hopes of being at the top of the WWE for him, well that meant everything.

"Let's get your beautiful ass to the reunion." he said then, proceeding to get ready. As she watched him, she knew that whatever happened tomorrow morning was of little consequence. She knew that as sure as she was Trish Stratus, she was going to be with Randy, and the two of them would survive together. Either in the WWE or without it.

* * *

A few hours later, after being shown off and handed off to just about every one of his old classmates, Randy had finally caught up with his date. She was standing alone by the makeshift punch bowl, and before he proceeded to make his way over to her, he took her in.

She was a vision in black, her dress going all the way down her body to the floor. Only being held up by the shoes on her feet. Her makeup was done perfectly so that it almost looked like she wore none at all, and after all of the dancing they had all done together and with various dance partners, she didn't look the least bit tired.

As he watched her then, he let his mind jump the gun and picture what it would be like to spend the rest of his days waking up next to this woman, having her look the way she did this morning when they had awoken together and cuddled before getting ready for their flight. He wondered if she would look this beautiful as she bore his children, if she would look this good in a white wedding dress, standing in front of friends and family in his hometown as she prepared to become his bride. All of these visions of her flashed through his mind, making him lose all sense of time and space.

All he knew in that instant was that what he had planned for tonight was going to go on, despite the bad news of earlier, and he was damn sure that at the end of the night, she was going to be with him for good, in every way imaginable. He knew he was deeply in love with her, and knew that no other woman could ever make him feel the way that she did now, just standing alone by a punch bowl, unaware of what was going on around her.

She lit up the entire room just by being there, and he knew that he had made the right choice when he had asked her to be there with him tonight. He had made a life changing choice.

He reached her then, and kissed her hand before wrapping his arms around her. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked her, his voice husky and low, but manageable over the music.

"I do not think I have stopped moving all night until now. Did you have any idea it was going to be like this? All of the men fawning over me and all of the women throwing me dagger looks for dancing with their husbands?" she laughed.

"I sort of figured it yeah. You didn't?"

"No actually, I pretty much thought I would never leave your side and just have the occasional girl be jealous that she wasn't the one with you and I was. Boy was I wrong!"

He nuzzled his lips on the back of her neck and just breathed in her scent. She filled his senses entirely and she knew it. As she lived and breathed now she knew that she took his breath away, along with every other man in the room.

"Look I need to get up and talk to the band for a minute, you promise to save me a dance and be here when i get back?"

She laughed and kissed him gently. "I do not plan on moving from this spot until you move me yourself Mr Orton."

He let go of her hand and headed up to where the band was now finishing up the last song of the set they were doing. It was all of the music that had been popular when he had been in school and he found that he missed hearing a lot of it, despite his interest in the new music of today.

When he had talked to all of the men, he took the microphone from the singer and made his way down to the middle of the dance floor in the gym, where a spotlight lit up to greet him. It was show time.

"As I am sure all of you know by now, My name is Randy Orton and I went to school with a lot of your husbands and wives. I was destined to follow in the footsteps of my father and grandfather before me and become a professional wrestler with what is now known as the WWE. As I am sure a lot of you know, I did indeed do just that, but that is not why I want to talk to you all tonight. I want to tell you all the reason I even bothered to come tonight, and she is standing right over there by the punch bowl, trying to make out like I don't mean her when I do. So Trish, would you come over here to the spotlight please?"

The light then followed to where Trish was standing, and as she made her way forward, was scanned along with her until she reached the middle of the room where Randy was standing, microphone in hand.

"Now you know I can't go anywhere without shooting my mouth off with a microphone, but Trish, this tonight is all about you. This is all for you. I wanted the right woman to bring to my reunion with me. I had a feeling deep inside that the woman was going to be you when you first talked to me the night I asked you about the other Divas, but what I didn't know was that I would come to love you so damn much that every time i see you, you take my breath away." he broke then to take a breath and then spoke again.

"From the first dinner we spent together at your home, I knew I was falling in love with you, and up until tonight I just chalked it up to being lonely and you being the first woman to really open up to me and give me a chance in years. But what I came to find out, when you put your life on the line for me earlier tonight was that it is more then just a crush, it is more then just me liking you. I love you with every fiber of my being and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just what kind of affect you have had on me." He finished and got down on his knee, all the while not breaking away from her gaze for one second.

"Trish Stratus, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

She let the tears fall then, slowly making their way one by one down her cheeks. Never had she had something of this magnitude happen to her in such a short amount of time. While she knew this could be dangerous as they had just gotten to really know one another, she knew deep in her heart that there was no other man for her and that Randy was her one and only. Through whatever bullshit that would come their way, she knew they could do it together.

"I love you with all of my heart Randy Keith Orton, and Yes, I will marry you."

As they embraced, the entire auditorium went crazy, clapping and gathering around them to look at the ring that Randy had just slipped on her finger and to give their vote of congratulations.

This truly was a night to remember for Randy, and for Trish as well. No matter what came the next morning, the only thought the two of them had was of each other in that moment and their long life together.

* * *


End file.
